


Vying for Power

by Fangenstein



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slight Canon Divergence, Slow Build, hey look weather exists, more canon divergence than i thought, teaching the trash man how to love, the past sucks but at least it's over
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 16:45:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14429895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangenstein/pseuds/Fangenstein
Summary: Cherry doesn't know where to start looking for her son, so she heads south until she accidentally wanders into the Nuka-World transit center, and boy howdy if it isn't a ride for her life. But hey, what's a better way to make sure you get your kid back than being the most feared person in the Commonwealth?





	1. This Too Shall Pass

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I post anywhere so hey! I just really fell in love with this idea and decided to follow through with it. This first chapter is going to be short because it's set-up for some Cherry information. I do not own Fallout 4 or any characters therein. I'm just here to have a good time, and I hope to update as often as possible. If you want to follow me on tumblr, you can find me as becausewritingandstuff

Cherry woke up with the full intention to carve jack-o-lanterns in the driveway and drive them over to her dad’s house. Maybe bake a pumpkin pie with what was left over before heading over. Salting some of the seeds to roast. She would drink a beer with her dad for the first time in nine months, and they’d look out at the stars. Nate would be inside with Cherry’s mom crooning over Shaun. Life would look up, and maybe she and Nate would work out the way her parents had after she was born.

“You’re doing good, Dolly,” her dad would say.

“You taught me how,” she’d respond.

But the world had other intentions. No sooner had Cherry sprayed down her hair to keep the waves in check, Codsworth was calling for them to look at the television. New York.

_We’re next._

Cherry and Nate immediately flew into action. In a minute they were at the vault.

“Cover his eyes!”

Nate put a hand across Shaun’s face, tucked him into his chest, and crouched facing her.

And the bomb dropped.  
\- -

Cherry woke up for the second time that day and watched them take Shaun. They shot Nate, took Shaun, and the man who did it took a moment to revel in it. If she got out of here, she was going to kill him.  
\- -

The third time Cherry woke up that day, she ran to Nate’s pod, hoping against hope that he was okay.  
He wasn’t.

The vault was blaring at her to evacuate. Everyone was dead. She had only one choice right now, and thank God her dad had been too paranoid to let her skip out on even one camping trip. So she was going to survive, find her baby, and find a way to live.

As she emerged from the vault, she saw the ruins of Sanctuary Hills. Something tore at her chest as she looked at it, wondering if there was anything there for her.

_They wouldn’t have taken Shaun there. _  
__

So instead of going to her destroyed home, she walked south until her feet grew tired. The giant roaches weren’t the worst part of everything. Some men had tried to kill her on sight, clad in leather and metal. One armed with a bat tried to take a swing at her, but Cherry instinctively blocked the attack, using his weight against him. She wrenched it free from his grip and drove the bat down into his skull.

That was when the first bullet scraped against her upper arm. Cherry ducked behind a nearby car, breathing hard. It was all going too fast. She hadn’t meant to kill the man. But he had attacked first.

“Get out here, you bitch!” _ _  
_ _

___I need to get out of here. _  
__ _ _

There were two other men, both of them with guns based on how frequent the bullets were flying.

“I’m out! Pass me some rounds.”

Right. Guns have ammo. And I don’t.

Cherry clenched the bat in her hands. It was aluminum, stained red.

They were getting closer.

If they flanked her, she was done for. Or maybe not.

Two clear shots rang out, and then silence. Cherry paused for a beat before peaking over the hood of the car. In the distance, a man in a duster was walking away without a word. And as much as Cherry wanted to yell out a thank you, she knew better than to draw attention to herself.

“What would dad do?” she whispered to herself.

And she got to work looting the bodies of the fallen.

When she was done, she had a weird modge-podge of armor, a hunting rifle strapped to her back, and a hunting knife at her hip. She took the smallest man’s boots. They were sturdier than her plastic looking ones, but she couldn’t bear to strip them of their clothes, so she continued south, not knowing how she was going to hunt down her son.

But, by God, she was going to do it and salt the earth where she buried whoever tried to stop her.


	2. Shout at the Devil

Her dad loved telling the story of the day she was born to anyone who would listen for as long as they’d allow. 

She was born on a warm summer day. Didn’t cause anyone any fuss. She was an easy birth according to her mom, no complications or worries aside from the fact that she didn’t want to cry when she was born. The doctor allowed the small noise that passed her lips to be sufficient in opening her lungs enough. Her first cry was when someone tried to pull her away from her dad’s arms. And that was the moment he knew he would destroy anyone who hurt his precious Babydoll. 

When Cherry turned seven, she got a crush on the girl next door and decided that she didn’t want her dad calling her Babydoll anymore. 

“I’m not a baby!” she had complained, stamping her foot on the ground. 

He laughed at her in her corduroy overalls and red braids. The dust of freckles were wild all over her face as she puffed up in defiance. 

“Alright, but I’m calling you Dolly, and you can’t stop me!” And he picked her up in his arms which made her squeal and laugh as she fought back against his tickling. 

\-- 

Cherry shook her mind clear as she approached the Nuka-World transit center. She hadn’t been paying much attention to where she was going, and with night approaching this seemed as good a place to bunker down than any. 

There was a group of what looked like soldiers standing in loose formation around their commander. Thinking back to the men she ran into earlier, she ducked down into a hiding spot behind the building. She would wait for them to leave before carrying on. 

“If I see anyone violate protocol and enter that transit station before we're set, I'll have your head,” he barked. Cherry frowned. Right now she was moving without any information or a clue where to go. She needed someone to point her in a direction, and if there was some form of active military, then that was better than nothing. She knew how to deal with military types. 

She stepped out of her hiding spot, hands up and weapons clearly at rest. 

The commander was the one who noticed her first. 

“You’re going to regret this.” 

And then all hell broke loose. Guns were firing, and Cherry ducked behind cover. There were two marksmen on the roof of one building. 

With careful aim, she tried to wound them. One fell, the other fired and hit her in the left shoulder. 

“Fuck!” 

Cherry ducked back into cover. 

_Breathe. One, two, go!_

__She kept this pace. For shooting, running into new cover, and once all of the soldiers were down, for pulling the bullet from her shoulder._ _

__Her dad had showed her how to use a stimpack when she was on their first camping trip. At the time, she was worried about what would happen if she used too much of the stuff, but now she needed the pain to stop._ _

__Cherry stumbled into the transit center as the pain receded, but she felt a headache coming on as she looked down at the man calling out to her from the floor._ _

__She sat across from him as he spoke._ _

__“What’s wrong? How can I help?”_ _

__She listened as he explained who he was and what happened to his family._ _

__“Raiders?”_ _

__“I… yeah. Tough too.”_ _

__Cherry pursed her lips a little. The man wasn’t bleeding, but he said he’d taken a bullet._ _

__“Here. I have a stimpack. Let me-”_ _

__“No no! Please save it for my-”_ _

__“Look, I don’t know where I am, where I’m going. I have five more of these that I picked up from some guys outside. I’m new here and you’re the only person who hasn’t shot me on sight. Take it.”_ _

__The man stood up suddenly without issue._ _

__Cherry listened to him go on about how he was a lure for passerby. She let a deep breath go, still sitting on the ground._ _

__“Alright. Okay. Shit.”_ _

__“I don’t want to die. Please.”_ _

__“I’m not going to _kill _you. I need some information. Where is somewhere safe to go?”___ _

___He seemed to calm down and hesitantly sat back in his place._ _ _

___“Last I heard was Diamond City. But that was years ago when there were super mutant attacks. I don’t know of anywhere else that would be safe.”_ _ _

___“And what’s waiting for me on the other side of that transit?”_ _ _

___“A death trap. They call it the Gauntlet.”_ _ _

___“Do you know what’s in it? The layout? Anything about it at all?”_ _ _

___“I… I know there’s turrets. A room with radiation. I think there’s a pitfall with some monsters in it? What I know for a fact is that at the end you have to fight the Overboss. And no one’s ever won.”_ _ _

___“Is it a fight to the death? Or can you prove yourself worth keeping around?”_ _ _

___“He’s bloodthirsty. No one’s lived to fight him in months.”_ _ _

___“But when they do?”_ _ _

___“He tears them apart.”_ _ _

___Cherry shuddered._ _ _

___She had a decision to make. She could go back outside, wander around the wastes for someone not going to kill her to ask directions to a place that may or may not still be standing. Or she could enter the devil’s world and fight for an answer._ _ _

___It was going to be hell, but it was certainty._ _ _

___“Do you know the order of the rooms. Anything at all so I know what to prepare for?”_ _ _

___“I think so. I don’t know layout exactly, but I know how the rooms go.”_ _ _

___“Turrets first. I think the best way people have mentioned is running straight through the fire and getting to the other side.”_ _ _

___He drew a clumsy box and a turret within._ _ _

___“Then there’s a room that’s wired to explode. Trip wires, if they haven’t changed that. Do you have any Rad-Away?”_ _ _

___“What’s that?”_ _ _

___“You’re kidding me… Okay, well you’ll need something to help with the room after that. Filled with radiation. It’s bad. I know a lot of raiders who try to tackle the Gauntlet for kicks who die in that room.”_ _ _

___“I’ll keep that in mind.”_ _ _

___“Then it’s another turret room. A maze rigged with traps. A minefield. The pitfall. The gas room. I don’t know what’s past that.”_ _ _

___“Alright.”_ _ _

___“You’re going?”_ _ _

___“Yeah. I need answers. Solid answers. And this is the only lead I have.”_ _ _

___“You’ll need this to get there. I turned off the power to the train. Made the story more believable.”_ _ _

___“Thanks. I hope.”_ _ _

___“Don’t thank me. I’m not doing you any favors.” \--_ _ _

___Cherry felt like this was a new world of little joys. So instead of sitting in one of the passenger seats, she climbed into the driver’s seat and watched the wasteland zoom past her._ _ _

___When Porter Gage’s voice came over the intercom, Cherry tried to scream out for answers, but it was a one way conversation. She pushed her palm into the glass beside her as hard as she could and calmed herself. She needed a level head if it was as bad as Harvey said it was._ _ _

___And now she had a name to ask for when she got to the end of it. \- -_ _ _

___Cherry took her time getting through the rooms, much to this Red-Eye’s distaste. She kept in mind what Harvey had warned her about and looted the bodies she came across. She kept the letters she found on each body, folding them up and putting them into a pocket in a backpack she found along the way. Her rifles switched out halfway through the maze._ _ _

___When she got to the pitfall, she sprinted across the wooden planks to find the door locked. She looked down in horror at the crab-like creatures below her. Somewhere, Red-Eye laughed._ _ _

____One. Two. Go._ _ _ _

___There was a screwdriver at her feet. And there was a bobby pin in her hair._ _ _

___Cherry grinned. This was something she could do._ _ _

___The lock took no time to pick._ _ _

___She took a moment to breathe. There was a box of Sugar Bombs standing ominously in a stream of light. If this was a movie, she’d yell at the screen for the hero to ignore it. But this wasn’t a movie. And Chery suddenly realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since before she woke up this morning._ _ _

___She looked at her pipboy again as she carefully went through the cereal. 2287. Two-hundred and ten years. It was supposed to be impossible. And yet, here she was._ _ _

___Next was the gas room. And then the unknown. But she’d made it this far._ _ _

___The Overboss. Whoever he was, he was either going to help her or die._ _ _

____Time to move._ _ _ _

___Slowly, she disarmed the traps in the hallway ahead. The gas room nearly killed her, but she made it through by holding her breath and stabbing the roaches with her knife._ _ _

___And then there was air. Blessed air. And ants. Fucking giant flying ants._ _ _

___Cherry had tuned out Red-Eye, but heard the word “homestretch.”_ _ _

___With a sudden renewed energy, she sprinted through the pathway, dodging bullets as best she could and flung open the door._ _ _

___She climbed up the stairs, listened to the Overboss’ posturing, but kept her eyes on Porter._ _ _

___As she crashed the button with her fist, she demanded answers of what was going on and who she needed to talk to about some damn explanations of the world._ _ _

___"I don't know what all you're needing help with, but I have a proposition for you. You kill Colter, and I'll answer everything I can. And with a little bit of legwork, I'll get you the head of whoever you want."_ _ _

___“I’m listening.”_ _ _


	3. Master of Puppets

Gage grinned from his spot at the intercom, keeping an eye on Colter.

“That’s my gal.”

Whoever this woman was, he had a good feeling about her. Or maybe that was his hoping he wouldn’t have to sneak out of here like a dog to avoid the wrath of the others.

This was the end of their patience. Either this woman did her job and kill that son-of-a-bitch or hell rained down on Nuka-Town like a whole new bomb.

He talked her through his plan, and she didn’t question it.

“Right. Well staying hydrated is half the battle, right?”

Gage eyed Colter's wiring.

“He ain’t got a choice.”

Colter was working the crowd. For all his shortcomings, he delivered on that. This was going to be the most satisfying thing to happen all year if it worked. Hell maybe in his entire life.

Gage glanced up at where the four others were sitting. For all Mags and William’s measured passivity, there was a hunger in their eyes. Nisha’s teeth were almost imperceptibly bared. And Mason was calm in his seat, instead of his usual pumping up his pack. They were just as nervous. But they had someone to go after if things went south.

Gage chose not to think about that and watched the show as he opened the door for his only hope.

_Shit._

She was tiny. Her armor was old and scavenged. Her fucking boots were tied together with fucking duct tape. And her hair looked like something out of a pin-up magazine. This was not Overboss material.

Gage watched her circle the arena, appraising Colter and his armor. She was quick, he’d give her that. She twisted around like she was dancing. Hell, maybe she was. But one thing was for sure, she wasn’t attacking. She sprayed Colter down with the water gun over and over, shorted out his suit three times.

It was when she came closer that he saw her mouth moving. Was she… _counting_?

Suddenly, she was slipping out of her armor as she was dancing around. The metal and leather landed on the floor. The crowd was screaming their heads off. What the shit was she doing?

For the fourth time, she short circuited the suit, but this time, she climbed up Colter’s back, dodging his arms. In a second, she was across the arena. This time when she counted, she held up her fingers.

Index. Thumb. And then mimed firing a gun.

And Colter exploded in a mess of metal, blood, and meat.

“Colter, man he’s out! Gage what the hell just happened?”

“You saw it. We all saw it. Colter’s dead.”

Gage did his best to hide his smile.

“We got ourselves a new Overboss.”

Nisha was grinning as far as her mask would show, even as she complained. Mason was standing again. Mags and William stared holes into the woman putting her armor back on.

He deftly handled their protests and cleared out the arena.

Whoever she was, she had a lot of questions, and somehow he felt it was going to take all night. But there were important things before her questions. Things that needed to get sorted out before the entire park knew this had been orchestrated like this.

She paid rapt attention as he explained the situation.

Even as he asked for trust, he saw no change in her expression. She just stared at him with eyes like steel.

“You’ve got my attention. Talk.”

He did.

“You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know if I’m going to blow you up the way I did him.”

“Look, follow me through here. You’ll see what I’m talking about. And then I’ll let you choose what you do from here.”

No he wouldn’t. If she chose to leave, then he’d be a dead man. Gage wasn’t a stupid man. He needed her to agree, and if he was good for anything, it was convincing people to stay alive.

He led her through Nuka-Town, not bothering to give her details yet. When he glanced back to make sure she was following, he was nearly taken aback. Her eyes were full of wonder, but the set of her shoulders gave nothing away. She was drinking in everything like raiders were a new thing for her. Though to be fair, these ones were no ordinary raiders.

When Gage opened the door leading into the Operator’s chunk of Nuka-Town, he realized she wasn’t looking at the people at all. Her eyes were on the buildings, the ground, the decayed trees. She nearly paused as they passed Cappy’s Cafe but soldiered on.

She was silent until they stepped into the Overboss quarters.

“Oh, _God_ , no.”

If Gage were a weaker man, he would have outright laughed at her look of horror.

“Yeah. Colter had some… interesting tastes.”

“This isn’t taste at all.”

She shook her head and went to dust off a nearby chair, but seemed to think better of it and wiped off the counter of the bar instead.

“Alright,” she said hopping up with practiced ease, “I have questions, and I hate to tell you this, but they’re more important if you want me to act like I know what I’m doing.”

“We don’t have time for-”

“Oh no. You don’t understand. I have _zero_ idea about what’s going on anywhere. I’m fresh out of a freezer.”

“What?”

Gage was not prepared for this.

“This morning the bombs fell, and tonight I’m going to bed without my husband or my… or my baby.”

Her eyes looked sunken but not defeated. Gage knew that look. It was the eyes that raiders got when they drunkenly turned to tell their buddy a story and remembered he died that morning. It was the look you gave yourself in the morning when you saw the glint of your reflection and could see how little you’d been eating. It was a look that said you were going to mourn and then you would unleash the devil.

And the devil was who they needed if they wanted to live through the week.

“You don’t know anything at all? Not a damn thing?”

“I know the face of the man who killed Nate. I know that I came here because I didn’t have any certainty about wandering through this endless mess,” she flung a hand out to the window in front of her. “And if you can help me get my bearings in this world, I’ll do whatever you want. But I’m no use to you without any knowledge, and you need me alive from the sound of those people in the arena.”

Gage sighed and plopped onto a stool.

“Everything you see out there? It’s yours. You’re in charge now.”

“And why am I in charge? Because I killed a guy at the end of a death trap?”

“Because you killed _the_ guy at the end of the death trap. You don’t get it. Colter? He was a fuckin’ asshole. You survived. That means you’ve got what it takes. Or at least the potential.”

“You need shit done. And I need to find my baby.”

“I can’t guarantee that we’ll find the kid. You have any leads?”

“Just that man. Some scientist looking woman with him.”

“Alright. You give me a solid description, I’ll put out feelers. See what I can dig up. But like I said. I can’t guarantee that we’ll find your kid. But we can put a bullet in the head of whoever you want.”

Her head shot up and met his eye.

“You mean that?”

There was something in that rage filled face that made him reflexively reach for his sidearm. He tried to recover by standing and putting it beside her on the counter.

“You’re the Overboss. You get this place up and running? Those assholes down there will follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“I sure do like the sound of that.”


	4. The Other Side

Cherry watched Gage explain what she needed to know. She’d found a notepad feature on her Pipboy, and even though it was an arduous process that Gage had little patience for, she made as detailed notes as she could.

“Bottle caps are the currency now? Are you shitting me?”

He shrugged.

“Okay. I can make this work. I need info on survival. What’s edible and what isn’t?”

“Well, most everything. We can stop by the market when you’re ready. You’ll be able to get a feel for it all.”

“Alright. But before that, I need to be able to blend in with everyone here. I’ve got the dirt down.”

Cherry wrinkled her nose at the room around her. There was trash everywhere, combined with the broken mannequins. The cleanest thing in the room was a bar of soap by the sink that looked like it never been used.

“I can’t sleep in this.”

“What? Delicate sensibilities, boss?”

Cherry glared at Gage as hard as she could.

“You need me up and running. Last thing I want is to die in this shithole because I got an infection. I can rig up a hammock with some netting. Hell if I have time, I can use rope to make one. I’m not sleeping in that bed, and I’m not living like this.”

Gage held his hands up in mock surrender.

“Whatever you say, boss.”

An idea flashed across Cherry’s mind, and she stopped glaring.

“I need something to draw with. Paint, ink, something.”

Gage passed through the set of doors and came back out with an old can of blue paint.

Cherry dipped a finger in experimentally. Satisfied with the texture, she moved to one of the mannequins and straightened it out as best she could. It took some duct tape, but she had rigged up a good training dummy. With the paint, she drew on the features of the man she was going to hunt down.

With satisfaction, she moved it across from the stage where the bed sat forlornly.

If Gage was curious, he didn’t say anything.

“Get me a broom. And a sledgehammer if you have one. I saw some people out there with them.”

Gage nodded and left via the lift.

She watched him descend, then turned her gaze to the expanse of the park. The lake was grimy, piles of trash laid around like stars dusting the sky, the cleanest decorations were the bloodied pikes. This was going to take a lot of work.

In the window, she practiced different expressions: anger, passive, cool detachment. She would need those if she was going to keep up the act. When she saw Gage heading back, she went to work tossing all of the trash on the counters and tables onto the ground. She was inspecting the chairs when the lift creaked to a halt.

Gage set the tools to the side and dropped an armful of rope onto the ground.

“Like I said, boss. I’ll get you what you need. You just need to make sure you can get us what we need.”

For the first time, Cherry let herself look the man over.

He wasn’t much older than her, maybe thirty-seven. His arms were thicker than her thighs. He was easily her size and a half no matter how you looked at it. His teeth were stained from tobacco, his nose crooked from being broken and set incorrectly. His eye met her with an expectant gaze.

“Alright. Right now I need you to use those muscles of yours to break down this piece of shit room. Leave that dummy, though. It’ll go down soon enough.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Once I set up this hammock, I’m going to sleep. I’ll head over to introduce myself in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

As Gage went to work removing his armor, Cherry grabbed one of the wooden chairs and ripped the cushions from it. It was going to be difficult without a proper loom or weaving jig, but she’d manage.

“There’s a workshop in the back if you want to use it, boss. It’s meant for weapons, but I’m sure there stuff you could use.”

“Just give me any nails you find and anything steel shaped like a circle.”

She’d lost track of how many times she’d practiced this. Her mom had made sure she knew every knot in the book. She’d practiced with twine for the most part and hadn’t done it since she was in high school, but her hands remembered everything. Letting her mind go blank, she was able to break off a leg of the chair, wrapping the rope around to make her shuttle.

She got to work on the first clew. It was always her favorite part. She liked to make them intricate, her own. But for now, she was battling exhaustion, so she went for a basic clew that would get the job done.

“So who should I see first tomorrow?”

“Nisha would take it personal if you didn’t pass by her place first, considering it’s right beside us.”

“Alright. And you said the Pack is all about hierarchy, so I should see Mason second.  Otherwise, he’ll start talking in front of his people. Which leaves Mags for last.”

“She’d be more understanding, so long as you get what it is that she cares about the most.”

“Money?”

“Money. Here’s some nails.”

Cherry took them gratefully and drove them into the wall to the right of the doorway. If she didn’t have a loom, she’d improvise.

“Nisha wants to destroy. Mason wants fun in whatever form it comes in. Mags wants to roll around in caps till she bleeds.”

“And whatever you do, don’t promise too much. It’s normal to promise more than you think you can provide, but too much and they’ll think you’re going to run.”

“Promise them the moon and get them to the stars.”

“Sure.”

They didn’t speak for a while. Cherry continued with her work. The netting was the easiest part, but time consuming. When she was a kid, this process would take her nearly half a day just because she had to constantly shift a stool around for the first half. By the time she went to college, she could make one in about an hour if she stopped thinking.

“Alright, boss. I’ve cleared out those tables. I’m going to bed before I pass out on my feet.”

Cherry nodded.

Just before Gage stepped through the door, she reached a hand out and tugged on his pant leg.

“Yeah, boss?”

“My name is Cherry. Cherry Mendoza.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, boss.”


	5. What Hurts the Most

Cherry woke up, keeping her eyes shut. For a moment, she thought she was still at home and had taken a nap in the backyard. But that didn’t make sense because her body was on fire. Every muscle ached, her head felt like it was about to explode.

Her eyes opened to a cracked ceiling and a holey jumpsuit. She was freezing. In her haste the night before, she hadn’t thought to use anything as an underquilt. It was a rookie mistake she was paying for now.

_ Gage had mentioned going to the market today. _

And just as she thought his name, there was a knock on the door.

“You ready, boss? It’s near noon.”

“Yeah. I need some clean clothes. Or at least something that doesn’t have holes in it. You can come in.”

Cherry sat up as the door opened. Gage wasn’t wearing his armor yet, letting Cherry get a good look at his torso. Healed over scars peaked out from his tank top shirt and laced across his arms. He was well-built too.

Nate hadn’t been a very big man when they’d met. Four years in service had changed that. An extra tour let it stick. And while Cherry hadn’t completely bought into that whole schtick, she wasn’t one to complain about those results. The man in front of her could have lifted Nate and not broken a sweat.

“You good, boss?”

“I need a fucking jacket.”

Gage went to a wardrobe on the stage and rummaged through drawers. After a moment, he shut the doors in disgust.

“Head inside. It’s warmer and there’s a stove you can heat up if you want. I’ll head down and see if anyone has something more useful than Colter’s goddam bottle collection.”

Inside was indeed warmer, and somehow tackier than Colter’s room had been. Cherry was willing to chalk that up to the original wallpaper, though. The room was musty, but everything seemed at least wiped down recently. Clearly Gage cared more about stray garbage than everyone else here.

Cherry let her fingers glide over the table where a terminal sat glowing awake. She’d take a look at it later, when there was more time. For now, she poked her head into the kitchen. The stove was welded together from old stoves and what looked like a piece of an old Nuka-Cola sign, but it seemed to work when she turned the knob

She looked around in the pantry and found a box of mac-and-cheese. There were cartons labeled WATER in shaky handwriting.

“When in Rome.”

The food could have been worse. She was hungry enough to down the entire pot, but decided to leave some as thanks.

As she went about washing down the counter with a rag and soap bar she’d found, an elevator bell dinged. She continued her cleaning before turning to the dishes.

“There’s still some for you on the stove.”

The clack and shuffle of buttons and cloth hitting the floor sounded before Gage moved to the stove. He proceeded to eat straight out of the pot with the stirring spoon Cherry had dug up. She rolled her eyes.

“You owe me fifty caps for that, by the way. Wasn’t sure what all you wanted, so I got everything that looked decent.”

“Appreciated. I’ll see if I can’t scrounge that up later.”

When she finished, she turned to the pile.

Most of it was dirty, but intact. Among the pile was a Nuka-World jumpsuit that looked sturdier than her own. Cherry set that aside and continued digging. There were plenty of t-shirts that she could make use of, even a few pairs of jeans that looked like they might fit.

Cherry grinned when she found a thick pair of work boots. They looked nice and clunky, retouched with leather. Underneath them was a decent looking cappy jacket.

She’d sort through the rest of them later. For now, she needed to get dressed and head out.

“Is there a room I can use?”

Gage had been watching her shift through the pile lazily. He gestured to a set of bathroom doors that looked like they’d fall apart at any given moment. Cherry did her best not to look incredulous.

At least the mirrors were intact.

Her makeup was smudged and cracked. Her hair was matted with blood from the Gauntlet. She was going to need a shower at some point, but for now she made due with tying her hair up in a ponytail.

Cherry’s maternity bra was suddenly incredibly dingy to her. She could almost feel the dried sweat clinging to it as her skin was exposed to the dusty air. After a bit of debate, she decided to wash it when she got back. She’d rather not end up with milk stains in front of people she was meant to intimidate. And, if she was planning to wash all of the clothes she now owned anyway, it was worth it to clean this bra to the best of her ability. It had been expensive to get.

As she reached for the doorknob, she say her wedding ring still on her finger. It was almost new. Only two months old.  _ Love, honor, and cherish. _ With a surge of anger, Cherry pulled it from her finger and flung it behind her.

It had felt like a joke then, and it was a joke now. As much as she’d cared for Nate, he’d never been someone she loved. Their one-night-stand wasn’t meant to be much more than that, and Cherry had been one hundred and ten percent ready to raise Shaun on her own. If he’d wanted to help that was fine, but she didn’t need it. She had enough money, even with maxing out the pro-bono work allowed her every month. With a Mr. Handy, she would still be able to work and care for Shaun.

But he’d worn her down, and they married.

\--

“For his sake. Please. He’s my kid too.”

“I’m not taking him away from you! You can live with us if you want. I have a spare room. Nate, you know my house has  _ always _ been open for you. I just don’t want to get married.”

“How would that be for the baby? Having to explain why we have different last names? Or wondering why we don’t share a room like everyone else’s parents?”

“For crying out loud, Nate! That’ll be years from now! I love you to death, but this isn’t that important! I wouldn’t change my name anyway! I wouldn’t be sleeping with you anyway! I’m not going to do something I don’t want to do!”

“Cherry. Dolly...”

“Don’t you dare. You don’t get to call me that. Not when we’re fighting.”

“You’re my best friend. I just want to be able to take care of our kid. And you. Please. You… you don’t have to change anything. I’ll stay on the couch like normal until we get everything set up. No wedding even. Just the papers. We’ll tell your parents. That house I was waiting for is ready in a week. It’ll be a shorter drive to the office for you, and I can stay with him once your maternity leave is up.”

\--

With a sigh, Cherry turned and picked up the ring, putting it in her pocket. Maybe she hadn’t wanted him as a husband, but he was still the best friend she’d ever had.

She’d mourn later. 

With a final glance in the mirror, Cherry stepped back into the main room. Gage was sitting at the terminal, looking bored.

“You done, princess?”

Cherry felt a pang in her chest.

“I’m ready. Meet me in the market in an hour.”

“Wait. You’re going alone?”

“They need to see I’m not afraid of them. Or this.”

“You’re the boss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This genuinely was supposed to be Cherry going out to meet the leaders, but then I got caught up in the Angst™


	6. Gangster Zone

It wasn’t that hard to keep tabs on her as she went from boss to boss. Aside from Nisha’s place, there were back doors to get in. It wasn’t that Gage was worried about the new boss. He was sure she could handle herself if it came down to a fight. At least a small fight with a few people. But if she picked one and an entire building of raiders came after her?

Part of Gage’s job as a second was knowing everything he could and making himself indispensable. If one of those assholes took out the new boss, he was gone. He needed to know immediately if damage control was necessary.

He took the elevator down, and when he was sure that the boss wouldn’t see him following, he slipped out into the open air.

Her conversation with Nisha was alright. She praised the Gauntlet, set her foot down. Even agreed to help out with a few jobs in the Commonwealth after everything was taken care of here.

He waited in the shadow of the scaffolding as she made her way back to the door. When she was gone, he waited for twenty seconds before following.

“Keeping an eye on your pet, Gage?”

“Making sure that if one of your people get greedy, they get caught.”

Nisha chuckled.

“If that was the case, then they’d earn my wrath. I don’t know how full of shit she is. But she is quite promising. Hope she stays that way.”

Her footsteps wandered further upstairs to her quarters.

Witch controlled speed, he made his way to the amphitheater. Slipping through the back door, he nodded at several Pack members waking up. It always surprised him how clean this place was despite the stink. He had never seen any trash in this area aside from some discarded bottles on the concrete seats.

The boss was standing next to him on the platform where Mason sat on him throne. They weren’t facing each other, instead watching the fight in the middle of the amphitheater. A woman was fighting off a molerat with a scarred hand.

Gage weighed whether he would be able to play off him being here as him waiting for the hour to be up. Would she catch onto his lie? Or maybe she was just trusting enough to let him get away with it.

He stepped out of the shade and sat heavily on a bottom seat. He pretended to be focused on the fight, but made sure his view allowed him to see both the boss and Mason. She had her arms crossed, gesturing towards the fence with an expression of detached interest. Mason waved a hand, inviting her to do something.

She grinned wildly, shucking off her jacket.

“Hey! Out of the ring! The Overboss wants to have a go for herself. Robin! You’re in.”

She leapt over the fence with a zeal he hadn’t yet seen from her. Her eyes were shining as Robin stepped into the cage.

Gage had seen a lot of raiders let loose. When he was a kid there was a friend who had destroyed one of his hands beating on a feral ghoul. He’d taken a piece of rebar, sliced his hand open in the process. Died a week later from infection.

Whoever the boss was right now, she was an, animal. Viciously, she wrestled Robin  to the ground, arms and legs becoming a nasty ball of muscle. Just when a Gage thought she was beat, the boss hooked a leg around Robin’s throat.

Sweat poured down her forehead as she yelled for Robin to yield.

There was a tense two seconds where Robin didn’t move. His face turned a bright red, and right before his eyes began to go dim, he slammed his hand on the ground twice.

The boss immediately unlocked her legs, moving to her feet and holding a hand out to Robin. Hesitantly, he took it and let her pull him up.

“Make sure to drink some water and keep you head above your chest for a bit. Don’t go to sleep in the next few hours. You were pretty close there.”

She grinned at Mason over her shoulder.

“I think I like this side of town.”

Mason sat in his throne, pleased with his Pack.

As the boss was leaving, she waved at Gage. She kept those wild eyes as she passed, not bothering to hide the spring in her step.

The door shut behind her, noise returned to the amphitheater.

Mason waved Gage over lazily as he pet one of the dogs at his heels.

“So that’s her, huh? She’s a vicious lady.”

Gage stepped to his side, the same place the boss had been only a bit ago.

“Yeah?”

“Bet me thirty caps she could take out my best guy. Pass these to her when you get the chance.”

Gage took the money, slipping it into a pocket.

“So what do you think of our new Overboss?”

“I think I like her just fine. So long as she remembers us, we’ll remember her.”

Gage made sure to keep his face blank as he made his way to The Parlor. He could move through here without much issue. He and Mags had been meeting a lot planning the logistics of overthrowing Colter, so the bouncer at the door had stopped questioning him weeks ago.

He leaned against the wall in the entrance as he caught the tail end of their conversation.

“So we want to know what your plan is.”

“Oh didn’t you know? I’m in this for the soda,” the tone was mockingly sweet.

The boss scoffed.

“What else do you think I’m here for? Money makes the world go round, and I aim on making sure we decide when it’s sunup.”

Gage left to the market before Mags could get to her spiel about running jobs in the Commonwealth. It seemed like the boss was just calculating enough after all.


	7. Tightrope

“So, how’d it go, boss?”

Cherry leaned against a wall beside him, making mental notes of everyone passing by.

It didn’t take a genius to notice the ones with collars were slaves. They were broken people that everyone else was dancing on, stretching out what little life they had in them. They were walking, shuffling, peddling wares to anyone who took a moment to look.

_ This isn’t going to do. _

“They’re on board. Now run this part here by me.”

“We’ve got traders, people who were here before we moved in. They do their work, bring in the caps.”

Things like this were the reason Cherry had done her work as a lawyer in the first place. She’d saved people from the draft, kids with nowhere to go when they “turned their backs on their country.” She’d organized halfway houses, taught seminars on survival skills. Her parents had weekend barbeques under the guise of state approved charity, and no one would ever know - or Cherry guessed  _ knew _ \- that they were smuggling kids out of the country.

“And they sell things? How do they get new product?”

“The other traders who pay the fines for safe travel to and from the Commonwealth.”

“Hm.”

_ No, this is definitely not going to do. _

“So what did you want here, boss?”

“If I’m in charge here, I’m going to look the part. I need armor and a decent gun. Not to knock on your magnificent contribution, but I don’t think a squirt gun is going to get me all that far.”

After some haggling and trading in old armor for new, Cherry motioned Gage to follow. They made their way back to Fizztop, the hissing of gang members ringing in Cherry’s ears. She didn’t look like them. Her hair, as messy as it was, wasn’t faded from the sun. Her freckles weren’t as pronounced. She had some fat on her cheeks.

It wasn’t until they arrived in her room that she let her guard down. Cherry felt the exhaustion making her eyes heavy. This wasn’t what she’d been expecting when she stepped out of bed. Everything from the light layer of dust on the counters to the murky pool outside gave her a stomach ache.

“So where are we heading first?”

“That’s up to you, boss.”

There had been a few times in college when she’d nearly lost all control of herself. During her first year, her friends had been genuinely concerned that she was going to burn out before midterms even started. She’d overthink every little issue. What if the prof knew she wasn’t studying right? How was she going to juggle everything and a girlfriend? What if she got sick and couldn’t keep up? What if her struggling with college made her girlfriend break up with her and Cherry’s world fell apart and there was nothing left to keep her going-

Cherry pulled herself out of backwards anxiety.

It was by a professor’s kind guidance that she went to a doctor to look into her mental illness.

“I’m not some invincible god, you know. I haven’t been here since I graduated high school. I don’t know anything about this new world. I don’t know how in the hell you expect me to suddenly lead the charge and get you all a cut of land.”

“Woah, woah, boss. You ain’t have to do this alone. I mean those asses out there won’t be coming to your call right away, but for now, you got me on your side.”

A bubble of anxiety rose up in Cherry’s throat, but she staved it off with a sarcastic, “Sure. You might even learn a thing or two.”

Gage offered a lopsided grin, “This I gotta see.”

“We’ll head out tomorrow morning. Sunup.”

“Sounds like a plan. Anything you need, you let me know.”

“I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“The slaves. That’s not going to be a thing for long.”

“How’s that, boss?”

“Maybe I’m going to be leading a few gangs to take over the region, but I’m not going to allow slavery. I have an idea on how to keep people on for work. We’ll keep the trade going and keep bringing in caps. But that?” She waved a hand in the direction of the market. “That’s going to be cleared up after these parks. You understand me, Porter?”

“Gage. No one calls me Porter. And yeah, I can understand that.”

He was frowning, a little squint of the eyes accentuating the crows’ feet and scars.

“Alright. You’re free to go if you want. But I could use some help finishing up gutting the place.”

“I suggest you pack up what you’ll need instead, boss,” he said, leaving no room for argument. “No telling what we’re going to be running into, and you’re going to have to pick which park to clear out first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short, I just finished up with finals. There's more coming up soon!


	8. Fish Outta Water

Cherry was falling through voices that made no sense. It was a cacophonous grinding sound of metal on metal paired with the screeching of people trying to be louder than each other. Among it all was Shaun crying. Cherry tried to look around, to fall in his direction, but he was too far off in the expanding darkness that threatened to choke her. With a blinding light that took over everything, Cherry woke up.

She was drenched in sweat, shivering in the cold wind that rocked the hammock gently. The sunrise was slowly creeping into view as a soft alarm on her Pipboy chimed. With a shaky breath, Cherry sat up and rubbed her face against her shoulder.

“Rise and shine, I guess.”

She dressed quickly, frowning at the grime that clung to the metal armor. Carefully, she rolled up the hammock and slipped it into her backpack next to the cartoonish map of Nuka World. It was going to be a hard run, but if this is what it was going to take to get Shaun back, then so be it.

Kiddie Kingdom.

Cherry could vaguely remember the field trip. Jean had insisted on pulling her up on the ferris wheel like it was some kind of romcom, and it wasn’t until after a lot of complaining about having just eaten and being afraid to puke that Cherry told him she was scared of heights. They ended up going to the fun house to fool around instead.

“Well, boss. Looks like you’re already to go.”

Cherry liked his accent. It was soothing. Something soft in this harsh new world.

“Yeah. We’re going to Kiddie Kingdom. I remember that one the best.”

“Right. Because you’re two-hundred years old.”

Cherry nodded. She could almost hear his eye roll.

“Any idea of what to expect?”

“We’re going to need a fuck ton of Radaway and Rad-x. You can see the radiation cloud from here.”

“How much do we have right now?”

“I dunno. About seven packs and a bottle?”

“Is that enough?”

He chuckled dryly, “Depends on how long we stay in there and if there’s shelter.”

Cherry set her jaw as she calculated how long she could risk being away from Shaun. On one hand, if she was able to get the gangs in line, she’d have hundreds of people at her disposal. On the other hand, her baby was out there in that wasteland with a murderer.

“Three days.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We’re going to clear it in three days.”

“You’re the boss.”

\--

She was way over her head.

Covered in dust, sweat, and blood, Cherry climbed up to the top of a shack pulling Gage up with her. She wanted to throw up, and that voice was going off again.

“Are you feeling lost? Pathetic!”

The growling… people?... clawed at the wood.

“I can see the funhouse from here. Think we can make it?”

Gage unleashed round after round at the advancing monsters.

“I hate ghouls. Which direction?”

“Behind us. Come on. Back to back.”

It was arduous, but the duo got to the funhouse safely, a trail of ghouls behind them.

“I have  _ so _ many questions.”

“Yeah, I bet you do. Can they wait for me to bandage up?”

“Sit against the wall. I can help.”

“I don’t need-”

“I know you don’t need help. But I  _ want _ to.”

Cherry cleared out some debris and pulled out a bottle of vodka.

“Want some?”

“I don’t drink.”

Cherry looked at him incredulously, but didn’t push. Instead, she got to work soaking some cleaner rags in the alcohol. For a second, she entertained taking a long drink, but figured that if she was going to bury herself in a bottle, she’d wait until she got back to Fizztop.

“So what the fuck are those things?”

“What? The ghouls? They’re people who got irradiated for too long. Those ones, the ferals, they don’t have brains anymore. Or least not any far as I can tell. They’ll fight anything that ain’t a ghoul.”

“Do you turn if they bite you?”

Cherry eyed one of her own wounds fearfully.

“Nah. Not unless you’re already irradiated to hell. Which, speaking of, we should clear out our systems.”

Gage swiped a needle across a corner of a bandage and set up the IV tubing.

“Where’d you learn to do that?”

He scoffed, then seeing she was serious, replied, “Everyone learns how eventually. There’s radiation storms all through the Commonwealth. Goddam molerats have radiation in their saliva.”

“ _ Fuck. _ ”

He gave her that lopsided grin again.

“Can you tie a tourniquet?”

“Yeah. That’s easy.”

Cherry found herself mimicking her child self, proudly lifting her head when she tied the cloth and held it tight with a stray stick.

“Where’d  _ you _ learn that, boss?”

She held his gaze for a moment, before turning to dress her own wounds. The alcohol stung the edges of slightly swollen scratches. Carefully, she cleaned the dirt off her exposed skin.

“My parents were survival nuts. I’ve been learning this stuff since I could walk. They were convinced that the world was going to end. Heh. I guess it nearly did.”

“Nearly?”

“Well you’re here, aren’t you? A whole bunch of people. Maybe the world fell apart, but it definitely didn’t end.”

\--

They rested a while longer, until the man on the PA became insufferable.

“What the hell is this?” Gage dropped a spent cigarette and squashed it out with his boot.

“A funhouse maze. I know a trick to get us through though. Just stay close and keep your eyes on the ground.”

She’d figured it out when she was solving a puzzle on a cereal box. If you always take the same direction for a turn, eventually you’ll find the end without getting hopelessly lost. As she went through, she did her best to tune out the voice.

“We’re going to have to find a way to turn out the radiation sprayers.”

Gage stepped forward and disarmed a mine, sliding it into a pocket on Cherry’s pack.

“And if we can’t find this guy, we’re going to be here longer, right?”

“Hey, boss?”

“Hm?”

“Anyone ever tell you you worry too much?”

“This is important. I need to find my kid as soon as I can.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Are you kidding me? He’s my baby! He can’t take care of himself here! How’s he supposed to grow up without me? Or learn? Who’s going to tuck him in at night? That monster?”

“Who cares who does it?”

“I care. And if I recall, I’m in charge of you fucks, which means you have to care too.”

They came to the end of the maze, and Cherry turned to the exit.

She’d never admit it, but she was frightened. The first time she’d been in a place like this, she had clung to her mom the entire time. Her mom had chatted to her about the building structure and how the mirrors worked, but Cherry had gripped her hand like God would reach down to pull her directly to heaven.

“I wanted to bring him here one day.”

“Who? The kid?”

“Yeah.”

As the two reached the end of the hall, they saw him. A man glowing green, eyes blank, teeth bared. The sound of Gage’s gun burned in Cherry’s skull, but it did nothing to the man. Something small dropped onto the conveyor belt before them.

“Back! Now!”

She pushed Gage as hard as she could into the hallway.

And she screamed.


	9. Toxicity

"Thought you could get rid of my that easy?"

Gage was going to strangle that ghoul when they found him. He could forgive violence, but  _ goddam _ did he talk too much. The voice was getting on his nerves.

The boss was staring at the corner of the hallway where the grenade had gone off. Her deep red hair had slipped out of her ponytail, blending with the blood that spilled from a gash down her cheek. Her lips were moving silently.

She was terrified.

"Boss?"

He reached out to her, earning that catatonic gaze turning to him. Her gray eyes watered.

"Cover his eyes," she whispered. "Nate, did you cover his eyes?"

"Who the fuck is Nate?"

He recalled her mentioning the name the day before, but couldn't remember why it was important. Was that the kid's name? No. That was Shaun. Who was that supposed to be?

"He'll go blind! Did you cover them?"

She was crying. Great.

"Snap outta it, boss!"

She turned her head back to the corner without a word.

"You're bleedin'. We'll fix you up and head keep going, yeah?"

She said nothing as he wiped down her face, not even when the alcohol touched the wound directly. It was probably going to scar. 

He held her chin as he examined her for any further damage. One arm was red from a burn, the other looked broken. She must have caught his armor when she pushed him. Damn woman. He could've taken the hit. Probably.

After doing his best to straighten her arm, he injected her with a stimpack. Some lucidity came to her eyes as what Gage assumed was the adrenaline faded.

"Thanks."

Her voice was hollow and her face dead.

"You alright, boss?"

"Yeah."

She stood up shakily. Walking towards the conveyor belt, she examined the door.

"There’s no handle."

"Time for the long way 'round, I guess."

She nodded.

"Come on, Nate. We need to go."

\--

Jumping the spinning bottles was a pain in the ass. The boss made it look easy, but she didn't have a cage on her. When they got to the spinning spirals, she grabbed his hand and started leading him through.

It was like dealing with an entirely different person. She was smaller somehow, demure.

"Come on, Jean. You're useless at these things. If we don't hurry then Vazquez is going to find us before we can have some fun."

She grinned and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Gage didn't know how to respond, so he let her pull him around. At the end, she was back to that catatonic shell.

He had to clear the ghouls in the spinning room alone as she crouched into a ball.

_ How in the hell did she get through the Gauntlet? _

He was ready to throttle her when she called out in the tiniest voice he'd ever heard, "Mami?"

_ Damn it. _

He tried each door before pulling her into the hall of what he hoped was the right way. Judging by that ghoul's grandstanding, he was right. Jamming the door open with a chunk of debris, he carefully made his way to the boss.

The boss looked up at him as he picked her up.

"Where's Mami? She said she'd stay with me!"

Gage wasn't sure what made him play along.

"She's just through there, kid."

He waited until the floor positioned him in front of the door and stepped through with a dizzying pull of gravity sticking in one place.

"We should stay here for now."

The boss jerked out of his arms like a cat getting out of water, suddenly and without grace.

"I have a knife! You tell me where Mami is right now or I'll use it!"

Gage laughed mirthlessly and slid down the wall. This was his luck. Of course. Out of anyone who could have been boss, who could fake it through being a competent motherfucker, it was someone with some kind of memory issue.

Mags was going to shoot him. If he was lucky.

"Lemme see your eyes. Need to know if you have a concussion."

The boss looked at him suspiciously, but kneeled beside him. He held up a finger and moved it, seeing how she focused on different distances.

"You seem good. Don't know what's wrong with you."

He closed his eye and rubbed his face.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm smart."

He glanced at her. She was looking him full in the face, defiant. Gage sighed.

"What year is it?"

"Twenty-sixty-three!"

She looked proud of herself. Well fuck.

"Who's Nate?"

"I dunno."

"What's my name?"

Her expression faltered.

"I dunno."

"Where are you?"

"Nuka-World!" She looked sheepish. "We came here for my birthday. I told Mami and Dad that I could handle a big crowd."

"How old are you?"

She paused, squinting.

"Seven."

He'd seen this in the few raiders who managed to live to a ripe old age. Their memories went, something would snap an old memory in their heads, and they were back in that moment.

"I don't know how to fix this, boss, but you need to snap out of it or we're both going to die."

She looked to the room beyond, then back to Gage. Her face twisted with determination as she stood and held a hand out.

"It's not that scary. We're not going to die."

Gage stared at her. She emphatically shook her hand, asking for him to take it.

"Mami said to stay put if I got lost, but I think it'll be safer if we get back to the front."

Well, it's better than sitting here and moping. Maybe he could spin this somehow. Convince her to let him do all the talking. He just needed a figurehead anyway.

He took her hand.

\--

Gage was exhausted when they got to the back area. The ghoul was gone and so was the boss. She stared blankly through the window where the grenade had exploded. He'd tried manuvering her to the bed he'd found, but she kept walking back to the window.

"What did you mean about covering his eyes?"

Gage had figured out that she could hold a conversation related to whatever she thought was going on. Figuring that out was the harder part.

"Shaun. You need to cover his eyes or he'll go blind."

"From what?"

"The bomb," she said to nothing.

Gage watched her for a moment, considering dragging her to the bed and holding her there until she passed out.

"Dad said it was coming soon. He could feel it in his bones. But I didn't want to believe him."

She turned to Gage then. Her face was red, eyes watery again.

"If we hadn't... if you hadn't insisted on getting married, Shaun and I wouldn't have gone into a Vault."

She moved to him, putting a hand on his face.

"I'm sorry, Nate. I'm so sorry."

Her husband. Nate was her husband.

"You need to sleep. Come on. It'll be alright in the morning."

He really hoped so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do want to stave off certain comments on this specific brand of PTSD coping mechanism and say that it's not very fun and some of Cherry maaay be projecting onto her. This isn't how things are going to stick for her, so don't worry about that


	10. World Falls Away

Cherry woke up with a headache that split her forehead right between her eyes. Her arms and face were somehow sore, and she didn’t recognize where she was. With a quick mental check of her faculties and a handy device built into the Pipboy, she learned that while she was a little ragged, she was okay.

Gage sat on the floor, keeping an eye on two doorways. His armor leaned more toward his right shoulder, the eye patch hanging from a bar. His face was haggard, his eyes exhausted. Where the eyepatch would have been was scarred over with an old burn, light against his dirty tanned skin.

When Cherry sat up, he rose to his feet quickly.

“You alright?”

“Yeah?”

His eyes narrowed.

“What year is it?”

Cherry glanced at the Pipboy.

“Twenty-two eighty-seven? It’s a Tuesday, if you care about that.”

She grinned at him, but was met with a cold glare.

“It’s about damn time, boss!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I dunno what the  _ fuck _ that was you were doing, but that shit can’t happen again. You let one ounce of weakness show and I’m dead. You understand that, right?”

His voice increased in volume, cutting into the silenced that seemed to stretch out past them into the rest of the building.

“I ain’t here because I’m a charity. I ain’t for running this joint, but I  _ sure as hell _ , ain’t here to die. You’re going to get your fucking act together, or I’m gonna take you out myself.”

Cherry stood up, enraged because she had no idea where this was coming from and because she didn’t appreciate that sentiment one bit.

“And what exactly did I do to upset you, huh? Did I talk too much for you? Did I ask the wrong question? Because I hate to break it to you, I have no idea what’s going on! I didn’t sign up, I was drafted! I’m not here to die either so-”

“So start fucking acting like it!”

His shout echoed down the halls, tearing air apart and splitting Cherry’s ears. Her headache wasn’t getting any better.

“What happened? We were fine just a minute ago.”

“No we were not. You were sitting there like a child while I cleared this place out. Rambling on about your ma and who knows what else. Look, you want to freak out on me fine, but save it for when we’re  _ not _ getting our asses handed to us.”

Cherry sat back down.

“The last thing I remember was the explosion. I thought I got knocked out or something.”

Gage kicked a wall and screamed, “You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself! You think I don’t have nightmares? You think they don’t scream in the middle of the night? You get used to it. You keep powering through it and pretend you don’t hear your buddy crying in the middle of the night! If you’re like the rest of them, you get high and maybe it’ll all be a blur. That’s what you gotta do in this world. I dunno what kinda world you’ve been living in, but clearly this ain’t it. And if you think-”

“This isn’t!” Cherry screamed back, not about to let him tear her down. She stood again, moving to just a few inches away, yelling into his face, “Why don’t you listen to me? I. Don’t. Know.  _ Shit _ . Think  _ you _ can get that through your thick head? I’ve been listening to you. I’ve convinced the other bosses that I’m some kind of psychopath like the rest of you, but I have no idea what I’m doing now!”

“I have been nothing but patient with your ass! Out of anyone who survived it had to be  _ you _ ?”

Cherry took a step back, narrowing her eyes.

“That’s right, I survived the Gauntlet. You may have helped with the end there, but everything else I did on my own. So you can back the fuck off and make sure we both get out of this alive.”

Gage clenched his fist and made a move to swing, but dropped it and kicked the wall again.

“ _ Goddam! _ It’s like talking to a fucking brick wall!”

“Tell me about it!”

The voice crackled over the PA, driping with annoying sarcasm, but didn’t get far before Cherry wrenched the gun out of Gage’s hand and shot the damn thing. She could hear him from some distant intercom but for now that wasn’t adding to her anger.

She sighed into her palm, letting her hot morning breath run up her face.

“Thank you for keeping an eye on me. I’ll talk to a doctor or whatever equivalent there is. See what’s wrong. And I’ll frame it as something else, don’t worry about getting gutted in your sleep.”

“Fine. But don’t make a habit of apologizing. You’re the Overboss, not some farmer.”

Cherry scoffed.

“Tunnels, right?”

“Yeah. You good to go?”

“If I can eat, I’d be great.”

Gage rummaged through her backpack and tossed her a can of beans.

“Did you sleep?”

“I don’t need to sleep yet. And I’m tired of talking. We move in five minutes.”

Cherry surpressed a bitter smile as best she could, and holding down the urge to mimic his accent, said, “Yes, boss.”

\--

It had taken them nearly an hour of navigating and putting down ghouls, but they found an employee tunnel entrance that wasn’t locked. The they didn’t speak as they cleared room after room. Gage seemed pleased when Cherry picked a lock, making their journey easier on them, but he said nothing aside from a snide comment about the room ahead of them that glowed with radiation.

“We really gotta wade through this shit?”

“You don’t stay here. Toss this when I get across.”

She passed him her gun and tuned to the metal walkway where she could barely see a door. Cherry bit her lip, measuring the leap across the rickety wood plank meant to be a bridge of some sort.

_ Don’t fall. Don’t fall. _

She crouched slightly, dipping her arms. With as much force as she could manage, she pushed herself over the bridge and stumbled slightly into the open doorway. The large pus-ridden ghoul turn a painted face to her and screeched.

“Gun!”

She caught it out of the air, firing two rounds into the ghoul’s skull. The wet smack of old skin and dead blood was the only sound in the fading echo of the blast. It crawled forward, slow, maw opening and closing in a wordless hunger.

Cherry shot it again and again, until it no longer moved.

Gage creaked across the bridge and sat heavily on the mattress in the corner of the room.

“You sleep,” Cherry said curtly. “I’m going to go through this terminal.”

Gage grunted, hesitantly undoing clasps of his armor and watching the door.

“I’ll keep an eye out. Don’t worry.”

He scoffed, “Don’t know how you’re going to live long with an attitude like that.”

Cherry rolled her eyes.

“You’re not going to live long if you keep talking shit.”

Gage let a wry smile slip as he laid down, closing his eye and said, “That’s the spirit, boss.”

\--

She didn’t know who any of these people were, but Cherry poured over the few files on the terminal. While they’d taken earlier breaks, she’d only gotten to take a quick look, but now that Gage was asleep, Cherry didn’t feel so guilty with taking her time.

They were ghouls. The people who’d lived here. So not all of the ghouls went braindead, or at least not right away. Like that green one.

Bits and pieces of the day before was bubbling to the surface. Little things, like the dizzying spinning walls and Gage carrying her to safety. She’d never blacked out like that, but she remembered some of the vets she’d gotten out of jail time.

“Destruction of government property.” That’s what the charges were. Every time.

An old man, a kid, someone like Nate. It didn’t matter. They tried to kill themselves, and it was “destruction of government property” like they were setting fire to a field or erasing files. And all of them had this look in their eye. They were snuffed out lights staring into the world that was watching them as a sort of entertainment. Look at these deserters, broken men and women too young to be more than canon-fodder for a fight that was only a distant idea. While you teach your kids to hide under desks, we’ll make sure that these cowards are put away, for their own safety of course.

In the darkened screen, Cherry could see that same look threatening her eyes.

With a deft push of the enter key, she shut off the sprayers. Now they wouldn’t have to worry about the radiation spraying them the entire time.

Whoever this Rachel was, Cherry wasn’t sure if she hoped she had succeeded or that she’d gone out peacefully.


	11. Born Under a Bad Sign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the sudden hiatus. There was a lot of family and health stuff happening that needed to be taken care of, but I'm back!

Her mom was sitting in her home office, papers tacked to the walls and strewn across the floor. The ones that weren’t up to her standards were balled and tossed into the wastebasket in the corner of the room. Cherry was six years old, pouring over one of her mom’s designs.

“I think this one is okay! I like the arches a lot!”

“You don’t think it’s too much, sweetheart?”

“No way! It looks like a castle.”

Her mom chuckled and said, “Well maybe we’ll build that for your treehouse instead. They want something plain but  _ elegant _ .”

She snorted in disgust.

Cherry’s dad knocked on the door, leaning against the wall.

“Are my princess and dolly ready to go? The ice cream’s going to melt.”

Cherry narrowed her eyes.

“Ice cream means camping.”

“Or does camping mean ice cream?” Her dad waggled his eyebrows.

“Almost done, love. Come look at this one, please? I need some solid designs to turn in to the client.”

“Of course, my princess!” he exclaimed with faux drama. “Your knight comes to save the day!”

\--

Cherry waited two hours before waking Gage up. He silently slipped his armor back over his head, got to his feet, and stepped out into the irradiated pump area, Cherry trailing close behind. The tunnel door they left through put them back at the funhouse which she warily passed by with some disdain.

It was only once Cherry was in the relative open that she realized what the problem was: the sprinklers were still going.

“I hope you don’t mind that I turned those defenses back on!”

The voice, Cherry was now sure was one of the original ghouls. It followed her and Gage through the park leading up to the castle. By the time they reached the doors, the ghouls were crawling out of the woodwork, nearly each one getting in a scratch before the duo put them down. It was less about precision and more a carnival game of chance.

Cherry was getting better at sneaking behind ghouls while Gage kept them busy. If she timed it right, a quick stab to the neck dropped painted horrors in a heartbeat. Gage, meanwhile, was a beast when it came to shooting from the hip. It wasn’t long before the ghouls were slipping on their own paint and blood.

Back to the wall, Cherry wrapped a hand around a bar on Gage’s armor and threw him into the building, slamming the front door behind her as she used the weight to move. The strain on her arms was almost unbearable.

“Damn! Give a guy a little warning next time, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Cherry slid down the wood, trying to not think about the thumping and scratching on the other side. She busied herself with injecting a stimpack, downing some Rad-Away, anything else. But that damned green ghoul was calling from the next room, taunting. If she could have, Cherry would ignore him all day, just to spite him. But when the clawing against the windows silenced, she pulled herself to her feet.

Gage was leaning against the ticket counter, cool as can be. He kicked himself away from the wall, drawing his gun as Cherry moved into the main theater room.

Aside from a few ghouls on the ground, the room was empty. Silently, Cherry gestured for Gage to take a spot against the back wall. With a frown, he obeyed, keeping his gun trained on a ghoul in the main walkway. 

“Don’t be shy! Come to the stage, little raider.”

She tiptoed around the corpses, pretending she was just dancing. 

_ God, how much more of my life going to be fake? _

“And now…”

A gunshot punctuated the pause hanging in the air.

“Oh great,” Gage muttered under his breath.

“The show you’ve all been waiting for…”

“I wasn’t planning on sleeping tonight anyway.”

Cherry stood at the ready; Gage reloaded his gun.

“Oswald the Outrageous!”

\--

Smoke and the smell of rotten flesh filled the room.

Gage’s eye widened from across the theatre. His gun moved up, fired, but the smoke went off again as Oswald appeared on the ground floor.

His skin was an iridescent green, glowing veins criss-crossing down his face into the dusty tuxedo jacket. It was the mouth that burned into Cherry’s mind. The permanent smile carved his head into nearly two pieces, the light creeping into the space between them looking like it was sewing the skull together.

A shiver went down her spine as she realized that Oswald would most definitely be joining her nightmares.

Oswald was about to speak when Gage sent a bullet through his skull. 

“What the fuck!” Cherry screamed, jumping back in surprise.

The ghoul dropped to the ground, releasing a green glow. The other bodies around the theatre rose with him. A chunk of his head regenerating.

“Don’t be scared, little raider.”

He grinned wickedly and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Fear stuck Cherry to the stage as Gage dropped ghouls. She tried to will herself to move, fight, anything at all, but her body stood fast until Gage was in her face. Whatever he was saying, she wasn’t processing. Something was stinging her palms. Everything was too bright, and Cherry was sure she was going to puke.

“-mon, boss! Snap out of it!”

She dropped to the ground and puked.

In her mind, the bile burned a hole in the stage, spreading until the entire building was melting into the ground.

“He didn’t die.”

“Yeah. Glowing ones are fuckin’ bastards. You need some Rad-X. Those shits are pure radiation.”

Cherry turned one of her hands palm up, observing where her nails had made cresent indentations into the skin. This wasn’t how the world was supposed to go. There should be space travel, exploring with aliens. Strides in medical studies. By now humanity should have solved world hunger and cancer and everything wrong with the world. Not pushing a sawed-off shotgun into ancient animated corpses.

Cherry puked again.

“You gotta kill him, boss.”

“No I don’t.”

“You’re a raider now.”

“And who’s going to see me, Gage? You? I’m your ticket out of hot water, so you’re not going to say shit. I’m not going to say shit.”

“What are you going to do? Leave this park for last? They’ll find out when they get here and you were too soft to get rid of the problem.”

“Stay here.”

Cherry stood up, shrugging off her weapons.

“I fuckin’ swear, if you-”

“Who’s the boss here?”

Gage squinted, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

\---

The elevator ride made Cherry sweat. It felt too long for the short distance up. Maybe it was the old machinery screeching that really did it for her. She found herself looking at the hatch above, the ragged carpeting underfoot, the rusting on the doors, anything but the needle clicking as floor after floor passed.

Finally, the door opened with a creak to an empty room. Once it must have been some kind of storage area, but now it housed barrels of something irradiated based on the glow pouring off of them. Cherry put her hands in the air, head down, the posture she’d learned in elementary school as a just in case you’re taken hostage.

With a puff of smoke, Oswald appeared, a sword limply swinging in his right hand.

“You Raiders are all the same. You come into someone’s home, steal their belongings, and kill those they care about.”

“I’m not one of them. This can end without bloodshed. “

“We’ve defended this place for two hundred years. You’re not the first liar I’ve met. You brand my friends as ‘feral’ to justify yourself. As though it’s a favor to the world!”

“Wait. You’ve been  _ here _ for two hundred years? Why?”

Cherry listened to him, asking questions only when there was a pause at the end of a sentence. There were people like her still alive. These ghouls she’d been killing were only different because luck hadn’t favored them as much as her.

“Oswald, I’m so sorry.”

He blinked back surprise.

“They aren’t the same people you knew. I’ve been reading the diary entries on the computers. I know about Dean. Herman.” Cherry paused, wincing internally. “Rachel.”

“She’s coming back with a cure, and then everything will go back to normal! You don’t know anything!”

Oswald brought his hand up as though to throw something, but Cherry held her hands up, reminding him that she wasn’t here to fight.

“Oswald… I understand what you’re going through. That’s why  _ I’m _ doing what I am. Some people took my son, and I’m trying to get him back. They shot my… his father. Right in front of me. My best friend. They took him and my baby.”

Cherry was starting to spiral. With a deep breath, she centered herself.

“There isn’t a sudden fix to everything. God, I wish there was. If there were, then maybe the bombs wouldn’t have gone off.”

“I would have married Rachel.”

“I would have brought Shaun here for his birthday.”

The two shared a shaky smile.

“You were there? When it happened?”

Cherry nodded, allowing herself to sink into the ground. She was suddenly so tired.

“My friend, my baby’s father, he was a vet. They had him pre-approved for Vault space. But it ended up being an experiment or something.”

“You don’t look like two-hundred years old.”

She snorted, a harsh sound that was quickly carried away by the wind.

“You’re really  _ not _ like them.”

Oswald cautiously joined her on the floor.

“I’ve only been here for a week. I was just passing by and got swept into all of this. If I fail, even once, I’m dead. And who knows what they’ll do to Shaun. Whoever has him.”

“Those raiders don’t?”

“No. And I killed the guy in charge, so now I’m in charge? And I…” Cherry looked at Oswald’s eyes, trying to push away the horror from the ground floor before continuing on, “They want me to clear out the parks.”

“That’s why you came here.”

“I thought that- I’m sorry.”

“I understand. You don’t know anything about the world.”

“I don’t think there’s a cure, either.”

“You can’t know that.”

“If there was, then it would have been made by now. It’s been centuries. And Gage talked about… people like you existing outside here.”

“Ghouls. I’m a ghoul.”

“Sorry.”

Oswald waved a hand dismissively.

“I can’t leave. That’s what you’re trying to get around to, isn’t it?”

“Please. If there is anything out there that can cure you, it’s not here.”

“But Rachel-”

“Hasn’t come back in a year. Right?”

Oswald closed his eyes.

“Right.”

“I can’t- I won’t believe that the worst has happened.”

“What if I bring you… some kind of proof? Something of hers. Where would she have gone? Or did she have a plan?”

“We had a house. It might have been destroyed. Personnel housing.”

“I’ll try to find her. Will that help?”

Oswald stared at Cherry in a way that made her skin crawl. Like he was going to take her and throw her off of the tower.

“I don’t know how you’d get there from here.”

Cherry held up her Pip-boy.

“It’s loaded with a map. Could you point it out on that?”

He nodded.


	12. Killing Loneliness

Gage finished his fourth cigarette by the time the boss stepped out of the elevator. She wasn’t bloody, torn apart, or puking. So clearly something else was going on.

“You ready for a hike?”

“A  _ what _ ?”

“We’re going to get this guy to leave without killing him.”

And she walked away like it wasn’t the stupidest shit he’d heard all year. And he had the misfortune of knowing Red-Eye.

“If we kill him, then we’re stuck with hordes of ghouls popping out of the ground. All we have to do is bring him proof his girlfriend is dead, and he’ll take off  _ with _ the horde. And he’s going to go without a fight.”

“Well shit. Anything else? Some top shelf bourbon?”

“Just trust me on this. Okay?”

“Alright, say I trust you. Where are we heading?”

“Bradberton.”

“Great. More ferals. This day just gets better.”

The boss turned on him, a fire in her eyes.

“I’m not ready to kill like you. Alright? I’m not a raider anymore than  _ he _ is.” She jammed a finger into the air towards the ceiling. “I’m going to go to 107 Cola Avenue and look for any signs of this woman and nothing you can do will stop me, Porter.”

Gage straightened up, pulling his gun over his shoulder.

“You’re fucking lucky I die if you do.”

With a dry smile, the boss walked off down the stage and out of the side door.

\--

The hour-long walk was uneventful. The sun was still high in the sky by the time they arrived at the shattered building.

“Fuck.”

The boss ran the last of the way, crawling over the rubble.

“Well. I think we found her!”

Gage hurried to the corpse of a ghoul with a pistol in their hand.

“We can’t carry her all the way back to the park, boss.”

After a moment of pursing her lips and looking around, she knelt by the body, carefully running her hands over pockets. Nothing she pulled out seemed to be useful aside from a can of beans.

Gage stood around awkwardly as the boss hefted up the ghoul by the shoulders and laid her out on the sleeping bag. That was when he noticed the holotape.

“We gotta get to a terminal for this to be useful.”

Gage held the holotape up between two fingers.

“No we don’t.”

The boss popped open a holotape deck and slid the tape in with a fluid move. 

They listened as she explained how she came to kill herself.

“This is it, then. We take this to Oswald and then he’ll leave.”

“Yeah, alright. And I’ll make sure there’s enough firepower to handle him when he doesn’t.”

She chuckled.

“You have fun with that, Gage.”

\--

They tensely rode up the elevator. Gage wasn’t taking no for an answer on this. He was going up this time.

“Who is this?” The ghoul drew a sword and advanced.

“Oswald, it’s okay. He’s not going to try anything.  _ Right, Porter _ ?”

“Right, boss.”

For the too-many-th damn time today, Gage put his hands up in mock surrender.

“We found this. Rachel left it for you.”

The ghoul broke down as he listened to the strained voice over the speaker.

“I shouldn’t have let her go. I should have-”

“You wouldn’t have convinced her to stay, Oswald. She was determined.”

He nodded blankly.

“I’ll take my friends. Maybe we’ll have more luck. This won’t be in vain. I… thank you. I don’t know your name.”

“Cherry.”

The ghoul smiled mirthlessly, “Too many food names in those days.”

“Tell me about it.”

Gage watched in surprise as the ghoul walked over to a machine and the sound of the sprinklers finally stopped.

“Those won’t bother you anymore. I hope you find your child. And take these. I won’t need them anymore.”

Gingerly, the ghoul handed the boss his sword and hat.

“Be safe, Oswald.”

“You too, Cherry.”

\--

They sat on the ledge of the tower, eating cold beans out of the can. Every so often, the boss would untie then retie her hair, look up at the flagpole, and then take a bite of her food.

“Maybe we hold off until we clear two more parks?”

“And go back to Nuka-Town without any results?”

“I mean they weren’t the ones who killed Coulter.”

Gage barked out a laugh.

“I think the Pack should get it. They’d love it.”

“What makes you say that, boss?”

“Just look at it. It’s big enough for them to run around doing their thing. The colors are bright like them. And look-”

She held a finger out at the giant wheel.

“From there, they’d be able to keep watch over the others.”

“Why trust the Pack to do that?”

“The Operators want money. I saw what that drive does to people. They’ll turn the moment that someone offers them something better. The Disciples want to kill willy-nilly. I don’t. The Pack would do anything if they’re given the ‘respect’ of the first park.”

“Fair enough.”

“Care to do the honors?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been waiting for this longer than anyone. Hoist up the first flag.”

She pulled up a tattered flag with the Pack’s colors from her bag.

“You’re the boss, though. Those assholes will think-”

“You see anyone else here?”

She raised an eyebrow cockily.

“Alright then.”

Gage hooked the flag up to the pole and turned the crank until the flag waved in the air.

The boss put a hand on his shoulder, grinning at him as he turned to face her.

“Looks like we’re making progress.”

\--

When they got back to Nuka-World, the crowd was a mix of anger and pride.

“You’re going to need to say something about your choice, you know.”

“I think I got it.”

She motioned for Gage to follow her up the lift. The crowd surged behind them, threats and cheers falling into a deafening cry.

The moment the lift hit the top, the boss yelled out a stunningly loud “Quiet!”

When no one listened, she took a gun and shot it into the air.

“You want to listen for a second?”

Some of the crowd backed up into the pool to get a good look at the makeshift stage.

“Now as you might have seen,” she paused, looking at the crowd before raising her voice, “we have the first park!”

Cheers and boos scattered across Nuka-Town.

“I’m hearing some complaints. Which is funny considering what I did in three days, no one did in a year. So how about you take a moment and celebrate with the rest of us!”

She pumped a fist in the air.

“Two days from now, we take another!”

The boos were now replaced with hopeful cries of gang names.

“Drink up, folks! We’ve earned a party!”

She turned on her heel and made a sound of disgust at the room around her.

“First things first. I’m going to take a nap. Then maybe I’ll tackle the rest of the junk in here.”

“Two days?”

“Resting is just as importance as pushing. If we’re running from park to park to clear everything then we’re going to collapse. Besides, I figured you’d be up for some recon.”

“Pardon?”

“I just said it. We’ve got a party tonight. And if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s throw a party.”


	13. This is Gospel

It didn’t matter where the party was going to be, a college dorm, suburbia, or a city bar, the host rules were the same for it to be successful. Food, drink, and music were necessary. Visit everyone once and only once so no one feels as though you favor them more than another; no one is too small. Have a second in command to deal with minor issues that may arise while so you can focus on putting out the actual fires.

“And that’s where you come in.”

Cherry busied herself with clearing out the glass bottles of alcohol into her backpack to transport them down to the ground where people were already celebrating.

“I think you might be putting too much stock in this, boss.”

“Nope. This is their first real taste of me in charge. They need to associate it with celebration instead of just a plain break between parks. Everyone, not just whoever gets the park.”

“That’s…”

“I’ve been doing this for a long time. The nice thing about this,” Cherry motioned for Gage to follow her to the lift, “is that throwing a party for a bunch of depraved raiders is going to actually be fun.”

Cherry hit the button down with her elbow and shifted the bag hanging from her shoulder. The glass tinked as the lift touched the ground. With a firm step, she walked to the small diner on her left.

Only a trader sat near it, cowering when Cherry approached. She winked at him with a roguish grin and gestured for him to open the door.

Inside was grimier than most everything else, but the rolling metal sheets that cut off the shack from the outside world still functioned with a little force.

“Who can cook around here?” she asked the trader.

“Um… Miss Plummer.”

“Would you mind going to get her?”

“Yes, Overboss.”

Cherry gently put a hand out to the trader, speaking softly, “My name is Cherry. You all can all me that.”

“Okay, Ov- Cherry.”

The man hurried out.

“That wasn’t very wise, boss.”

“It was human. Which is what  _ they _ need. Now help me with these.”

Cherry watched as he started to pull on the chain, only to have his armor knock a stack of plastic wrapped cups down on him. Stifling a laugh, she looked on as Gage turned to glare at the offending cups only to down some plates.

“Come on, you gotta take that off every now and again.”

Gage grumbled something under his breath and went to unhook the clasps on his side.

“Here, let me help.”

Cherry was at his side before he could protest, hands running across the metal to find all the clasps and belts holding the cage together.

“If we’re going to be running together, I need to know how to get this off of you.”

“Pardon?” Gage stiffened.

“If I need to do CPR or you get knocked unconscious. I need to be able to move you, and Lord knows I can’t do that with this shit on you.”

“Fair enough.”

Gage let her fiddle with the armor, only occasionally intervening before something was pulled too tight. A few minutes later, the armor was shucked off into a corner and an older woman was approaching.

She was definitely not a raider, but she wasn’t collared either. Her sunken eyes pierced the scene unfolding around her, raiders moving out of her way as she walked, the trader who sent for her following on her heels.

“Well, hello there, boss. I was wondering when I’d get to meet you.”

Cherry smiled at the woman warmly and hopped onto the grimy countertop.

“I hear you can cook!”

Miss Plummer smiled back. It looked foreign on her face.

“That I can,” she rasped.

“Well, tonight we’re celebrating taking the first park. Think you can help out?”

“What can I do for you?”

“Tonight, we’re going to use up everything you’ve got in stock. And tomorrow morning, you and I are going to fix up your work space and make it as functional as possible.”

Miss Plummer starred first blankly then with surprise.

“What do you mean, fix up my work space?”

“Sorry. I assumed it’s about as put together as the rest of Nuka World.”

“You’d be right. But I don’t see the point.”

“I’ve got some plans in the works for this place. Something that will suit both the traders and the gangs. And it starts with cleaning up Nuka-Town.”

“And why my cafe first?”

Cherry paused.

Good food had been rare for the normal people. Between plants going extinct and rationing, it was nearly impossible to find more than boxed snacks and watered down milk. And even then, you needed coupons for the milk. The country had tried to appease people in the last few years by having government sanctioned birthday treats, a visit to a restaurant where the celebrant was allowed an appetizer, meal, and desert. The drawback was that everytime you accepted the offer, your social identification number was put into the draft lottery. But the chance for a good meal was too good a deal.

“There are a few things people need to be comfortable. Shelter, food, and water. You provide one of the basic necessities.”

“But why clean it up?”

“I want to make sure that what you provide is the best you can do. If your customers get sick from getting something into an open wound or from a bad batch of meat, then you lose customers who think they can do better. But we give them something that they can enjoy, then when my plan goes into full swing, you’ll be able to make caps hand over fist.”

Miss Plummer nodded thoughtfully, then stuck out her hand.

“It’s a deal, then.”

Cherry shook firmly.

“Then get who you need and cook up a meal fit for the first real party this place has seen.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The old woman walked away, chatting to the shivering man.

“Well, boss. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that devil smile.”

“My old job was all about convincing people to see things my way. They were just lucky my way was good. Now help me clean this shit up. I’ve got to practice my cocktails.”

\--

What few radios there were around Nuka-Town were cranked up to full volume in an attempt to drown out the ruckus in the street. Pack members climbed up trees to howl at the moon. Disciples had set up a knife throwing contest that was divolving into some strange sort of orgy. Operators had opened up some of the derelict booths in an attempt to resurrect grotesque assumptions of carnival games. And among all of that, in her little diner booth, Cherry sold cheap mixed drinks.

Miss Plummer had made good on her end of the deal and brought nearly an entire bar’s worth of liquor as well as mutfruit, tomatoes, and near endless bottles of Nuka Cola. Between the food she cooked and the alcohol Cherry sold, the party was in full swing.

With each drink, Cherry got in a short conversation with the people she was meant to be in charge of and got an understanding of the politics going on.

Everyone felt more entitled to the parks than the other. Disciples and the Pack were sure that the Operators were going to try to take over. Operators were positive that Nisha was going to try to slit the bosses’ throats in the middle of the night the moment they relaxed. Mason was supposedly fucking everyone he could, no matter the gang. Mags was fucking a Disciple. Or more interestingly, William was actually a vampire. There reached a point when the gossip turned into wild conjecture and the food was gone.

Cherry stepped back and proceeded to clear patrons.

Gage sat back on a rickety chair, smoking a cigarette and frowning at the raiders who complained about the end of their supply.

“Help me out with these?” Cherry waved a hand at the metal sheets.

“How much did we make tonight?”

Gage ground out his cigarette as Cherry looked over at the large wooden boxes filled with caps. A few were spilling over onto the floor from the two hastily tossing the offerings to make the drinks.

“Enough. You know, you’re not a bad bartender. A little scrubbing and you could have fit right in with that crowd back in my time.”

“That so?”

Gage arched an eyebrow and finished pumping the crank that slammed the partitions to the counter.

“Yeah. A couple of well placed tattoos and a softer eyepatch? You’d have been quite the looker.”

He scoffed and proceeded to wipe up the spills on the counter.

Entranced for a moment by the now enclosed space and the soft movements of Gage’s shoulder blades, Cherry bit her lip. She shook her head, trying unsuccessfully to push the idea of him from her mind. Instead of focusing on that, Cherry made herself the closest thing to a screwdriver.

“God, seriously, boss?”

“What? It’s a party! You can’t tell me  _ you _ don’t drink.”

“Nope.”

“Oh.” Cherry set the screwdriver on the table. “It probably would have tasted like shit anyway.”

“You can drink. I’m just gonna give you a hard time about it.”

Cherry watched Gage’s hand gripping the scrub brush.

_ I bet you could. _

“It’s fine. I still need to meet up with the bosses. Help me haul up these caps, and you can go party with everyone else.”

“Yeah, right. Like I’m gonna let you go around here by yourself right now.”

“I  _ can _ walk around on my own.”

He shrugged.

“Maybe.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m more concerned about you killing the mood out there.”

Cherry rolled her eyes.

“C’mon. Just help me with these.”

\--

The other leaders sat around a table in Cherry’s room.

“Awful bold,” Mags said, studying her nails, “throwing a party for one group and then inviting all of us into your sanctum.”

“You’ll each get a party like this. For now we need to have a discussion.”

Mason settled into his chair. The others seemed much more restless.

“I understand that this isn’t ideal for the Disciples and Operators, but someone had to be first. The Pack is the largest group here and giving them this will both allow everyone some more room to actually breathe  _ and _ set things up for the way things are going to go in the future.”

“And how’s that?” William asked, eyes narrowing.

“What do you know about this place? The whole of it.”

“Some kind of brainwashing thing?” Mason asked. “Get people to buy shit they don’t need or some fuck like that.”

“One hundred percent right. People came from across the country to spend thousands here. That’s what the Operators want, right?”

William and Mags nodded thoughtfully.

“Well we might be able to get that going again,” Cherry continued. “And as for the Disciples, have you noticed how much of the broken buildings around here can be adjusted to suit your Gauntlet?”

“Keep talking.”

“Part of my plan will involve phasing out the traders as something you all have to be dependent on.” The bosses collectively rose to their feet, but Cherry held up a hand.

“But! That doesn’t mean that they’ll be leaving. Or that the Gauntlet has to suffer. Hear me out. I’ve already given you more than Coulter ever did.”

“She’s got a point,” Mason said, taking his seat again.

“Of course, you’d say that. You have something. What do we get?” Nisha growled.

Cherry placed a map down on the splintering coffee table.

“These are the different parks. There’s only five. If I split them past each of you getting one park, then we have space to work as a unit in the smaller ones. Neutral zones.”

“And why would we want that?” Mags seemed interested at least.

“I spent all night talking with your underlings. Newbies to vets. There’s a lot of them that get along. A couple in relationships. Neutral zones would break up some of the tension that seems to be taking over everything here.”

“It ain’t that bad a plan,” Gage piped up from a seat at the bar. “But I still don’t see what that’s gotta do with the traders.”

Cherry scowled.

“I’ve got my own reasons for why I want to phase out the traders, but as far as what’ll convince you. Mason, you work with caged animals. What happens when you get some that are too wild.”

“Break ‘em.”

“And the ones you can’t?”

“They die.”

“Which is all good, unless you rely on those animals to smooth things out. Like, for example, be the ones who handle all of the business coming into Nuka World. Or fixing machines and buildings.”

“We’ve got them settled,” Nisha snarled.

“Not Miss Plummer over at the Cafe.”

“She’s… a special case.”

“But she shouldn’t be.”

“Then collar her.”

“No. What I mean is that instead of relying on them, we pay them. Give them clothes, food, and lodging. Take them on as employees instead of slave labor. They have experience with the Nuka-Town. Once everything is settled, they run the business side of things. You still get your cuts. Your Gauntlet will still be up to you to adjust, Nisha, but we use it as a proving ground. Picture it: idiots from all over coming over trying to join up with the greatest gangs this side of the Mississippi. But if they want to join, they need to run the Gauntlet.”

Nisha rubbed her hands together.

“Hold on now, boss,” Mason stood before Nisha could be persuaded.

“Let me get this straight. Operators get their park and their caps. Disciples get their park and their death trap. What else does the Pack get?”

Cherry stood, matching Mason’s offensive style stance. Maintaining eye contact, she firmly put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down into his chair. He didn’t fight,which seemed to impress the others.

“You get what I give you,” she said soft enough to only just be heard. “Responsibility.”

“Even the others agree that your Pack are the fastest runners. We need people to who can’t be bought or will go into a blood frenzy. No offense to Mags, William, and Nisha, but that rules out everyone but the Pack.”

The bosses grunted in confirmation of Cherry’s assumption.

“While your people are loyal to you, they aren’t going to open to me unless I pour these wins into your laps. You’ll each get a park. And in return all I ask is that we start rebuilding the destruction around here.”

“Raiders don’t rebuild, boss.” Gage stretched out his legs. “I’m not sayin’ that cause I don’t agree with the plan. I’m sayin’ it because it’ll be like pulling teeth to do all of this stuff you wanna do.”

“Which is why I’m talking to my incredibly competent seconds. I might be Overboss, but you’re the ones keeping me in check. And your people are loyal to you. If you can be loyal to me, then we’ll get this situation cleared up and we can move onto bigger plans.”

Mags raised an eyebrow. “Bigger plans?”

Cherry sat back down, hands steepled.

“Before I came here, I was looking for my kid. He was kidnapped. I’m telling you this, because I’m going to rain hell on whoever took him. And who can guess the best way to handle it?”

No one spoke.

“I’m going to back him into a corner and bring down the most powerful gangs on anyone who tries to stop me.”

“Wait, boss,” Mason’s gears were turning as he looked up, eyes shining. “You mean we’re going into the Commonwealth.”

Cherry nodded and took in the bosses’ greedy smiles.

“Well then. I think we have an agreement.” Mags stood, William shortly following.

Cherry held up a hand and pointed at the map.

“There’s still the matter of sorting out the parks.”

Mags set a finger down on the World of Refreshment.

“Done. Unless Nisha has any objections?”

She shook her head.

Mags and William went to the lift and descended into the fray on the ground.

“Well then, Nisha. Do you have a preference for the parks?”

“We don’t need a big one. I want something well fortified.”

Cherry took a long look at the map. The Galactic Zone was too widespread for a solid defense. Safari Adventure looked just as sprawling. Which only left Dry Rock Gulch.

“How about this one? Only two entrances, enough space for Gauntlet projects, training, and sleeping arrangements.”

“Hm. Not too bad. And it seems to have enough natural defense. It’s as good as any other.” Nisha readyed herself to leave, but paused. “I expect mine to be handled next.”

“Of course.”

Nisha hit the button for the lift. Within seconds, she was gone.

Mason let out a low whistle while Gage settled into the now abandoned couch.

“Well, you handled that pretty well, boss. But now that you’re not putting up a front, what’s the Pack really getting?” Mason gave Cherry a toothy smile.

“I said what I said. Responsibility. Or in terms that I can use now that they’re gone. Freedom and respect. You’ll be handling the supplies from Nuka-Town to the others.”

“Don’t sound like much.”

“And that’s why the others won’t care about how much power you’ll really have. How Nuka World runs once everything is intact is going to depend on your Pack. Out of all of the people I talked to today, the Pack were the ones who, even at their drunkest, kept people in line. That’s who I want in charge of supplies.”

“Man! You’re pretty convincing!” Mason laughed. “What were you some kind of politician out in the Commonwealth?”

“Nah. I just kept balance and got people out of trouble.”

Gage put his feet up on the coffee table.

“Lord knows that’s what we need right now,” he said taking a swing from a bottle of Nuka Cola.

“I don’t make deals the way those stuck-ups do. If we’re going to have an agreement, we’re gonna drink. You too, Gage.”

“I don’t drink. You know that.”

“Special occasions.”

Mason set down a brown bottle with a faded, peeled label. Uncorking it, he pushed the bottle towards Cherry. She didn’t give herself enough time to think herself out of it.

The burn was worse than she remembered. There was a long list of possible bad first drinks after a little over a year of turning down the social comfort, but this quickly jumped to the top.

Gage made a disgusted face as Cherry handed the bottle over, which only deepened when it touched his tongue.

“What in the _goddam_ is that?”

Mason laughed, “What? Don’t like Deathclaw Piss?”

“That is the worst name for a drink. You know that, right?”

Mason emptied half the bottle before re-corking and setting it at his feet.

“So, boss. Your kid.”

Cherry stiffened.

“How old was he?”

“Is.”

“Huh?”

“He  _ is _ five months old.”

“Right. You got any leads?”

“I’m already on it,” Gage said, challenging Mason to continue.

“Of course. I was just gonna send out a few guys to poke around. Ask some questions.”

“ _ I’m already on it _ .”

“I got it! I got it! Just offering our Overboss my services. Well if this sorry ass is gonna try and bring the mood down, I’m gonna take  _ my _ sorry ass over to the party. Thanks for the park, boss.”

“Night, Mason. Don’t kill anyone.”

“Ha!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested, there's a playlist for this fic! I update it when I post a new chapter. You can find it here https://open.spotify.com/user/125176292/playlist/65wIbE7INuvJSdVdYnLExk?si=e2Ao6zkzSbWAlNeVJrOkBA
> 
> And thanks for sticking with me through the long wait for the new chapters!


	14. Some Days You Gotta Dance

A little past daybreak, Cherry pulled herself out out of her hammock. She rummaged through the now neatly folded pile of clothes, trying to find the Red Rocket jumpsuit and an undershirt. Outside the windows, raiders slept in scattered mattresses in various states of undress. For a moment, Cherry starred.

Then she unhooked her bra and tossed it into a drawer.

Quickly, she dressed. After a quick run through of her kitchen’s stock, she frowned and stared down the door to Gage’s room.

Technically, she could just walk in. She was supposed to be in charge, so if he complained then it was no big deal. But if he was her second-in-command, then she should give him his own space.

The door opened.

“Rise and shine, boss.”

“Over here. Looking for something to eat,” she said from the kitchenette.

Gage gave Cherry a once over, then gave a curt nod.

“Yeah, Coulter didn’t really keep anything other than the liquor here. I didn’t want that shit in the main room.”

Something in his face dropped a little. 

“Have you eaten yet? I can make something.”

“Uh, no. I mean -  no, I ain’t eaten yet. There’s some salted brahmin and some beans, I think.”

“I’ll see what else we can put together, if that’s alright?”

Cherry pulled on her fingers, trying to make them pop, a bad habit she’d picked up from her mom. She walked down the hall, mind spinning as she thought about the easiest way to refill the holes in the walls. It soothed her nerves. Always had.

Gage and Cherry each carried a duffel bag packed with caps as they walked over to Cappy’s. The sleeping raiders curled around bottles and each other in a way that was almost adorable. Paint smeared faces and buildings, alcohol soaked into already dead plants, inhalers littered the ground. And the raiders snored at the rising sun.

Miss Plummer was waiting at the counter with a thin young man. Aside from them, the cafe was empty. 

“Well, hello there, boss. Got a little worried that you might have forgotten about us. This is Kieth. He runs the kitchen.”

Cappy’s Cafe was cleaner than Cherry had expected. The whole place could have used a fresh coat of paint, some Abraxo, and maybe less severed heads, but altogether it wasn’t so bad. The kitchen was decently organized, at least.

Gage left shortly after dropping his duffel to the floor.

“I got some things to take care of,” was all he said to preface his exit.

Cherry set her mind to the task at hand.

\---

In college, she’d joined a club that went out to small towns that had lost most of its population to feeding the war machine. There had been a trip every other weekend, and it helped mitigate her stress when she was worried. It was mostly yard work or storm relief. Things that, once you got in a rhythm, let you sweat out your worries.

One of her favorite trips was visiting Nahant in her freshman year. A hurricane had passed through. It was fall. She’d just failed her first big exam. She missed her parents who had moved into New York for the new school year.

The old woman hosting her for the weekend - Ms. Kenway - had asked for help with putting up sheetrock and resetting windows in the local community center. She was a kind lady who insisted that Cherry needed homemade cookies every few hours and a walk on the jetties every evening. Ms. Kenway’s house was small and packed full of knick-knacks and old, knit blankets and holotapes with music Cherry had never heard before.

“Oh, dear,” she had said when Cherry asked where to put her bag, “I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep on the couch. Don’t think any less of me, it’s just the guest room was flooded.”

“I can fix that for you.”

“Oh! No! The community is more important right now.”

“It’s not any trouble.”

“If there’s time, maybe. Have you had lunch yet?”

Ms. Kenway’d gone over to the kitchen table, covered in expired coupons. Clearing the scraps of paper off into a plastic bin, she patted a chair.

“Not yet, ma’am.”

“Oh, please. Call me Rose. Well then, let’s get something for you. How would you like some fruit to tide you over? I got some lovely cranberries yesterday. Do you have any allergies, dear? Perhaps some shepherd’s pie? Or that’s more of a dinner food, isn’t it? I think I may need to run by the store later.”

Cherry had smiled as she watched Ms. Kenway flit around the kitchen, absent-mindedly touched the knobs of each cabinet twice as she opened them looking for something she decided was good enough.

Over that weekend, she’d learned a lot more about Ms. Kenway’s disorder.

She was the one who figured out that Cherry had similar issues. She’d seen Cherry’s habits in cutting food into near-exact equal sized pieces and alternating which side she chewed each bite. The way she purposefully woke up an hour ahead of the club schedule to make sure that her blankets were folded to the exact size and shape of the pillow. The way she systematically measured the sheetrock in the community center to make sure it fit down to the millimeter.

Cherry had visited a lot over time, especially when she was homesick. Ms. Kenway gave her tips on how to work with her disorder and avoid getting stuck in loops. She became like a grandmother, invited to every family event because she had no one left who was willing to step back into her life. They fixed up Ms. Kenway’s house at their own pace, often stopping to sit and talk about how to tackle a new problem.

“Why don’t you go to a doctor, dear?”

“I tried. They tried to make me sign these forms that would have allowed for experimental government treatments. I almost signed too.”

“What a shame. When I was your age, it was so much easier to get decent healthcare. Had walk-in clinics and everything!”

It wasn’t the first or last time they’d had this conversation. Ms. Kenway had even offered to list Cherry as a familial caretaker in a way that assured they could both have good insurance, to move closer to the university, to pay for medication out of pocket.

“You know, Rose, I would have loved to grow up with you.”

“Ha!” Ms. Kenway waggled a finger like she always did when conversation turned this way, “I’m not giving up that blackberry pie recipe so easily!”

\---

Cherry, Miss Plummer, and Keith spent the better part of the day removing large metal spikes and rubble. With the help of a rusted dolly cart, they were able to take the concrete out behind the building.

A few traders moved in and out of the Cafe, looking for something to eat, and were surprised to see the Overboss covered in dust, arms deep in Abraxo solution, hair tied back with a dirty bandana. Cherry greeted each of them with a warm smile and warmer plate of the closest she could make to her dad’s carne asada.

The doctor in specific was hesitant when she left the Cafe. Before going, she put a hand on Cherry’s, opened her mouth to say something, but left without a word. Something about it made Cherry want to cry.

Instead, she scrubbed at the centuries old grime in nooks and crannies. 

For the most part, they worked in silence.

“I don’t think the raiders will like this new layout, bo- Ch- ma’am.”

Keith had been unsure of how to address Cherry and had settled on not making up his mind. Frankly, it was endearing

“They’ve learned to deal with the mess, they’ll learn to deal with being able to see the floor.”

Cherry plopped heavily onto the now clean tile. According to the pipboy it was nearly eight in the evening. All in all, it was a good day’s work.

“Well, boss,” Miss Plummer said, pulling up a chair to a shaky table, “the total you brought today comes out to nearly four thousand caps. Not a bad haul at all.”

“Alright. I want you to get the word out, anyone who checks in with you is going to get a hundred caps in exchange for doing some resource runs. We need good wood and metal. An extra hundred to anyone who signs on to build or take scrap out of the way.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Keith, I need you to tell the other traders the same. You two are going to have one of the most important jobs in the new way of running things.”

Cherry’s feet reminded her of how much she’d worked as she stood back up.

The front door opened.

“Well, I’ll be damned, boss.” Gage’s eyebrows rose. “Smells a hell of a lot different without all that blood everywhere.”

“I aim to please.”

“Ain’t sure about that, but I was able to track this down.”

He held up a scrap of paper and nodded his head for Cherry to follow.

After a quick goodbye to Miss Plummer and Keith, Cherry and Gage were heading up the lift and into the chilly Overboss quarters.

“So what is this about? Did you find something about Shaun?”

“Not yet. That’s gonna take more than a week. But this was a little easier to get ahold of. Now, keep in mind, I ain’t got much of a head for chems. I don’t touch the stuff. But accordin’ to the doc, this should help with anything like what happened at Kiddie Kingdom.”

He passed the paper over to her. In neat handwriting was the word “Calmex” followed by a different, much more erratic handwriting.

“What is this? A tranquilizer?”

“Somethin’ like that. Supposed to help with… uh… traumatic stress. It ain’t to use often, though. Just when you’re havin’ an episode.”

“Was it really that bad?”

Gage shrugged.

“Thank you. It means a lot.”

“Like I said. I ain’t a charity. You’re here ‘cause you might be able to get shit done, but I’m here because I’ve got the ideas. Only way I can work is if you’re standing there in the front of it all and takin’ the credit.”

“By the end of this, you won’t have to worry about your skin, Porter. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Rebornfromash on tumblr for commissioning me and giving me a work reason to keep up with the story. I'm going to have a few more chapters posted in the incoming week. If you're interested in commissioning any work or following me, you can find me on tumblr as fangenstein. If you like my work, buy me a ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/fangenstein


End file.
